Paying Attention
by monochromeXdreams
Summary: As the years pass, long-sleeved shirts have become common clothing upon the Hero of Hyrule. Two gossiping teenage girls are about to discover the - very good - reason for this. Takes place 7 years after ST.


It is summertime in Castle Town. In such a situation, the incredibly hot and metallic mess that makes up the mechanization inside a train is the worst possible place to be (save, perhaps, the Fire Realm,) let alone in a long-sleeved and woolen engineer's uniform.

Under this excuse, the hero has rolled up his long pants and taken off his shirt. And, had Link bothered to look away from the steaming engine of his train, he would have seen civilians of both genders pausing to gawk at his incredibly toned - well, whole body. Yes, being both the Royal Engineer as well as the Royal Bodyguard for no less than seven years does that to someone.

Currently, however, the half-naked eighteen-year-old is out of sight for two notoriously gossipy girls. The key word being currently.

As they exit the shop, each carrying several fancy necklaces, the topic of their conversation turns to the sight in question.

"Like, Echo, I've heard he's the Princess' boyfriend! They're called the Royal Couple for, like, a reason, you know."

The other girl pauses and places a hand on her hip. "Maddi, that can NOT be true! Yesterday, Elesis and Patricia saw him. They said he was a super-sexy blond guy, and he's totally single!"

Maddi has nothing to say to this, and instead tucks a few strands of brown hair behind her ear. "Are you sure? Elesis and Patty have, like, _sources_. If they said it, it's true! Now I wanna, like, see him."

The other girl lets out a "hmmph!" of superiority before visibly deflating. "I know, right? I wonder when he's coming to town again… We should totally look for him!"

Echo's footsteps suddenly come to a halt as a corner is rounded, and her companion crashes into her back. "Like, why'd you stop?" the brunette exclaims, before following the outstretched finger of her friend.

Standing in a gleaming train that currently rests in the garage is a man. An incredibly handsome man, with lightly tanned skin and a small pony tail of messy blond hair. This isn't what makes Echo stop, however.

The man is also shirtless.

The duo begins toward the station at a notably slower pace, stepping warily over the cobblestone street. They flinch and halt as the man looks up, only to have him wave and smile at a passing woman, who returns the actions. A - very sudden - shared spike of jealously shoots through the two as they observe his occasional friendly movements.

After some time has passed, the man straightens and cracks his back before leaning forward and peering at something in the recesses of the train engine. A small groan escapes his lips before he hops off of the train and into the garage, emerging shortly afterwards with a small thing of oil in his hand. He leans back over the engine and sticks his hand into it before tilting the container down.

The girls watch in silence as the man continues to tinker with various parts of the train, before Echo squints and motions at her friend. "Hey… I think he's covered in scars! Look, Maddi!"

And he certainly is. It hadn't been apparent before, but as the sun rises higher and more axel grease coats the man, many small and not so small blemishes become visible. On his back is a myriad of scars and slices. His arms are peppered with lines as well, with a long gash running down his right forearm. This man is a warrior of some sort; that much is obvious.

The two were so caught up in their spying that they fail to notice the people on the street bowing at a figure who walks down it. Maddi is only saved from embarrassment as Echo grabs her head and half throws it at the ground. The other girl's indignant complaints are "shhh!"-ed into submission as the brunette realizes who is going down the street, surrounded by guards.

Princess Zelda herself.

As the blond princess - who is practically the queen at this point, but she still has yet to marry - passes the two, she glances down and offers a kind smile.

Seconds later she has passed them, and Echo stands up in awe. "Look, the princess!" She frowns as the green clad guards begin wandering off. "Wait, where are the guards going…? And Maddi, look, that guy isn't bowing! I bet she throws him in the dungeon!"

The brown-haired girl's only response is "Does the castle even have a dungeon?" before her eyes go wide and the jaw hits the floor.

The man doesn't bow, instead placing a soft kiss on the princess' hand before turning back around and pointing to the train. He says something that the girls can't hear, but definitely makes the princess giggle. Not laugh, but honestly giggle - as a young girl would. The eighteen-year-old princess, being wooed by a grease-covered train engineer? Then the princess responds:

"I think you come here to see the trains more than me, Link." A delicate hand is raised to her mouth as she laughs, and the summer sun glints on a golden band on her ring finger - a band that matches the one on the engineer's left hand.

Ah. The princess has a fiancé.

This is how two girls fainted in the middle of the street one hot summer day, not the heat exhaustion claimed by the town doctor.

**~888~888~888**~

**Thank you for reading this story about half naked train engineers and 5-second fan characters. Also, I fail spectacularly at writing in present-tense. Oh well. At least I'm spectacular at something. **

**Does anyone have any criticism? I'd love to hear it!**


End file.
